Chair construction



P 1970 R. H.- MILLER 3,526,433

CHAIR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 7, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F70. 2; Hal.

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0 [5/6 4 7? INVENTOR mum/d H. Mfl/er" ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice 3,526,433 Patented Sept. 1, 1970 US. Cl. 297-440 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A seat, such as an upholstered chair, sofa or love seat, is so constructed that it can be shipped in a flat package, knocked down, and assembled by the purchaser in very few minutes. The seat has a back, two arms and seat which are assembled by connecting the back to the seat and then by ingenious means connecting the two arms to the back and seat. The upper ends of the arms have hook engagement with cooperating means on the edges of the back, whereupon the seat is bolted to the arms to complete the assembly. The seat construction employs conventional sinuous springs extending from front to back and the seat deck construction is such that longer springs may be used, connected in close proximity to the front and back of the seat deck and at relatively low points to improve the comfort of the seat by spring action. Tension means connected to the springs prevents the bucketing of the springs, the tensioning means being variable to control such action.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION down condition as distinguished from the present method of manufacture and shipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The bottom, back and sides of a chair are manufactured in their entirety, including upholstery and coverings, and then are shipped stacked one on top of the other in knocked-down condition to be assembled by the use of a few bolts. The back is provided with a bottom rail which, in assembling, is bolted to the back rail of the deck and the back is provided in opposite edges near the top thereof with a slot within which is arranged a hanger. The completed sides of the chair are provided with flat upwardly opening hooks insertable through the openings in the edges of the back and then moved upwardly to engage the hooks with the hangers. The side rails of the deck are then bolted to the sides of the chair. With the upwardly opening hooks carried by the sides of the chair, the weight of the back and its connection to the seat is placed directly on the sides of the chair, the weight thus being directly supported by the sides of the chair.

The deck includes a novel construction including low front and rear rails to which are connected the ends of sinuous springs, and these springs are connected to each other and to the side rails of the deck by auxiliary springs. The arrangement of the parts relative to the front and rear rails is such that longer than the usual sinuous springs may be employed and they are anchored to the front and rear rails in close proximity to the forward and rear extremities of the chair.

The deck further includes an auxiliary rear rail above the main rail and beneath which the rear ends of the sinuous springs extend. Tensioning means is connected between the auxiliary rear rail and each sinuous spring to control the firmness and bucketing action of the latter. An auxiliary front rail is spaced above the main front rail and is provided with a support above the auxiliary rail and below the upper extremity of the deck so that the seat cushion may have a deep forward edge to improve the seating comfort of the chair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the finished chair;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the component parts of the chair showing the sides of the chair separated from the bottom and back;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the seat deck per se;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detailed section on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the deck structure of the chair with the springs, etc., eliminated;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing the connection of the back and one of the chair sides;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the frame of one of the chair sides and a portion of the frame of the back; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary bottom plan of one corner of the chair frame.

Referring to FIG. 1, attention is invited to the fact that while an upholstered chair is shown, the invention is applicable to similar articles such as sofas, love seats, etc. The chair comprises four main components, namely, a seat 10, back 12, and sides 14. Each of these components at the factory may be upholstered and covered and completed as individual separate units.

The seat or bottom portion 10 comprises a frame shown in section in FIG. 4. This frame comprises a front rail 16 and rear rail 18, and it will be noted that both of these rails have their tops spaced substantially from the top of the frame as a whole. These rails are connected at their ends by side raills 20, and the connection between the front and side rails is strengthened by the usual knee blocks 22.

The side rails 20 have their upper edges at a higher elevation than the tops of the front and rear rails, and front and rear blocks 24 and 26, respectively, are secured to the upper edges of the side rails. These blocks may be of the same width as the side rails 20 as shown by the blocks 26 in FIG. 6. The tops of the blocks 24 are flush with the auxiliary front rails 28 (FIG. 4) and a flat strip 30, preferably formed of thin plywood, extends over the auxiliary rail 28 and over the tops of the front portions of the blocks 24. The blocks 26 are higher than the blocks 24 and each of the latter is provided with an auxiliary block 32, the top surface of which is in the same horizontal plane as the tops of the blocks 26. A heavy flexible rubber strip 34 is cemented or otherwise secured forwardly and rearwardly to the upper faces of the blocks 26 and 32 and projects inwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 5.

It will be noted that the auxiliary front rail 28 is spaced above the main rail 16. An auxiliary rear rail 36 spans the side rails 20 (FIG. 4) and is spaced over the main rear rail 18. These spaces between the main and auxiliary front and back rails are utilized to receive a plurality of hooks 38 and 40 fixed, respectively, to the main front and back rails 16 and 18. Sinuous springs 42 are connected between corresponding front and rear hooks, the arrangement of such springs being shown in FIG. 3. The springs 42 are connected to each other and to the side frames by auxiliary springs 43. By providing the spaces referred to, the spring mountings may be arranged very close to the front and rear limits of the chair deck, thus providing for the use of substantially longer springs of the sinuous type. The length and resiliency also are improved by the fact that the hooks 38 and 40 are arranged relatively close to the bottom of the chair deck. The spring arches as shown in FIG. 4, the uppermost limit of the spring between its ends being arranged above the rubber strip or webbing 34. These relatively strong rubber webbings 34, as will become apparent, allow the deck pad to cavitate on the sides of the chair without producing a hammock effect.

Certain cross members of each of the sinuous springs are connected by a strong rubber band 44 to hooks 46 fixed to the top of the auxiliary back rail 36. Springs may be employed in place of rubber bands as will be obvious. Where bands are used, they are looped around certain portions of the springs and then arranged in V-shape as shown in FIG. 3 and are connected at their ends to the books 46. The bands 44 (or springs) control the firmness of the seating comfort and bands of different tension may be employed. The seat is of largely conventional construction and will be supported by the elements described. Since the strip is arranged below the level of the webs 34, a deep cushioned front edge may be employed to improve the seating comfort.

Each chair side 14 is of course provided with an interior frame, and the same is true of back 12, as shown in FIG. 8. The frame for each chair side comprises front and rear posts 48 and 50, upper curved wood units 52 and cross members 54, 56 and 58. Each member 56 and 58 is provided with a bolt opening 60 for a purpose to be described.

Each rear post is provided with metal bracket 62 having an upwardly opening hook 64, the body of each bracket lying in a substantially vertical plane. The hooks 62 are employed for connecting the sides of the chair to the back.

Among other elements, the back 12 comprises vertical side posts 66 and a bottom rail 68. The bottom rail 68 is provided with at least one bolt opening 72 for a purpose to be described.

Each post 66 is provided near its upper end with a vertical slot 74 through which the bracket 62 is adapted to be inserted. On each inner face of the post 66 is secured a chafing plate 76, the bottom of which is downwardly notched as at 78. The bracket 62 is inserted through the slot 74 and then is raised so that the notch 64 in the bracket 62 slides upwardly into the notch 78 of the plate 76, as shown in FIG. 7. The upward opening of the notch 64 is important for a purpose to be described.

In FIG. 7 the back and side of the chair are shown as being merely covered with upholstery material 80. It will be apparent, however, that the frames of these units may be provided with both upholstery or padding covered by upholstery material.

When each side 14 is assembled, as shown in FIG. 7, the bolt holes will align with similar openings 82 in the side rails 20 to receive bolts 84 for connecting the deck to the side members. These bolts may be of the type shown in FIG. 4 for connecting the bottom rail 68 of the back to the back rail 18 of the deck. Such bolts preferably include heads 86 having points 88 projecting therefrom to be driven into the wood of the elements by which they are carried so that when the units are brought together, the bolts may be inserted from the inside of the deck frame. Beneath the corners of the deck frame are secured gusset or corner plates 90 (FIG. 9) and the chair is provided with feet 92 adapted to be secured to plates 90 of bolts 94.

OPERATION As previously stated, each of the main units of the construction, 10, 12 and 14, are manufactured and completely assembled at the factory, whereupon these units may be stacked in a much smaller carton than is ordinarily used in the shipping of furniture. Thus a great saving in shipping space and freight rates is effected. The kit thus packed will include feet 92 as separate elements together with the necessary assembly bolts.

The purchaser, for example a furniture store, will unpack the furniture units and placing the back rail 68 in position against the back rail 18 of the seat deck will secure these two units together by the bolt 86 (FIG. 4), only one such bolt being necessary. Having thus assembled the deck and back, the sides are then assembled by inserting the brackets 62 through the openings 74 and then lifting the side relative to the back to seat the brackets 62 relative to their plates 76. The bolts 84 are then inserted through the openings 60 (FIG. 8) and 82 (FIG. 5), whereupon the main units of the chair will have been completely assembled. The plates (FIG. 9) are then secured in position, and one of the feet 92 is bolted to each plate 90 to complete the assembly.

Attention is invited to the fact that upwardly opening of the notch 64 is important. By this arrangement the entire weight of the back of the chair is transmitted through the brackets 62 to the sides 14 which seat squarely on the floor. Thus, no force is transmitted downwardly from the back 12 to the rear portion of the seat deck. All of the foreging operations of assembly are quickly and easily carried out, and a resultant chair provides a strong rigid construction. The rubber webbing 34 minimizes the hammock effect due to the flexing downwardly of the seat 10 near its edges. Longer sinuous springs 42 may be employed for the reasons stated, and the resultant chair provides a higher degree of comfort in use. A chair of excellent quality may be sold at a lower price because of the elimination of the assembly operations in the factory, the simplicity of the assembly operations by the purchaser, and the great saving of space in the shipment of the article.

From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is herein provided an improved chair construction which accomplishes all of the objects of this invention and others, including many advantages of great practical utility and commercial importance.

As various embodiments may be made of this inventive concept, and as many modifications may be made in the embodiments hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A chair construction comprising side, back and seat units, means for securing the bottom of said back unit to said seat unit, and means for fixing said side units to said back and seat units, such means comprising connecting elements between each edge of said back unit adjacent the top thereof and each of said side units, said connecting elements comprising an upwardly opening hook and a plate engageable therewith respectively carried by said back and side units, and securing means between said seat unit and said side units adjacent the forward and rearward limits of the latter, said back unit including a frame having vertical side posts each having a substantially vertical hole having a perimeter lying in a single plane, the top of each hole sloping upwardly towards the exterior edge of each side post, in the side edge thereof adjacent the top, said connecting elements comprising a rigid plate carried by the inside edge of each side post, each rigid plate covering a top vertical portion of each respective hole, each side member having a frame including a rear post and an upwardly opening relatively flat hook plate carried by the upper end of each rear post and slidable through the adjacent hole and upwardly into engagement with the lower edge of the adjacent one of said plates, said seat unit including a frame, a frame member on each side of said seat unit frame and the frame of the associated side unit having bolt openings aligning when said hook is in engagement with said plate, whereby when each hook slides through the adjacent hole and is moved upwardly into engagement with said plate, the bolt openings at the associated side of said seat unit align with the bolt openings in the frame of the associated side member for the reception of bolts for securing each side unit to said seat unit, each of said units being covered with an upholstery material, the holes in the edges of said back unit extending through the cover of such unit, the covers on the inside faces of said side units being apertured for the projection of said hooks therethrough.

2. A chair according to claim 1 wherein the frame of said seat unit includes side rails and transverse front and back rails connected between the bottom portions of the side rails and sinuous springs having their ends releasably connected by means of hooks to the tops of said front and 15 297416 back rails below the level of the tops of the side rails and rising upwardly therebetween to a point above the tops of the side rails to support a cushion on said seat unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,928 6/1953 Bateman et al 297-455 X 2,678,088 5/1954 Jamison 297416 3,170,729 2/1965 Grant 297440 3,171,690 3/1963 Weiss 297440 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

